A coroner has determined that the death of a teenage soldier was significantly influenced by months of persistent harassment from her superiors, rather than being just a minor factor.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found hanging in her room at Larkhill Camp near Salisbury in Wiltshire on December 15, 2021.
Before her death, the young soldier had broken down and confided with friends about how some senior colleagues had tormented her.
The tragic circumstances surrounding her case sparked an outpouring of allegations from over 1,000 female soldiers, who came forward with accounts of sexual assault, mistreatment, and discrimination within the military.
The revelations prompted the Army’s head, General Sir Roly Walker, to issue a strong condemnation of such behavior, expressing his deep concern over the new reports of sexual misconduct that are inconsistent with the values and standards of the military.
It came after the Salisbury inquest into Gnr Beck’s death heard claims the young soldier had been ‘pinned down’ and sexually assaulted by a high-ranking non-commissioned officer (NCO) months before she died.
She had also faced a barrage of thousands of messages from another one of her bosses who confessed his love for her.
Today, coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said the army’s handling of the harassment faced by Gnr Beck played a part in her death, adding: ‘How Jaysley’s complaint was handled played more than a contributory part in her death.’
Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck joined the army at 16, serving with the Royal Artillery. But she was found dead in her room on December 15, 2021, aged just 19
A beaming Gnr Beck is seen passing out after completing her military training
The inquest previously heard how Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, allegedly grabbed her leg and tried to kiss her during an incident in July 2021.
Gnr Beck made a complaint about the senior NCO, following a stay at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire for an adventure training exercise, the inquest heard.
The inquest heard the then Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Webber had told her he had been ‘waiting for a moment for them to be alone’ and engaged her in a drinking game called Last Man Standing, before grabbing her leg and trying to kiss her.
The coroner was told that Gnr Beck pushed away the married soldier, then aged 39, and left the room before spending the night in her car and making a complaint to her superiors in the morning.
The Battery Sergeant Major (BSM) later received a slap on the wrist after admitting attempting to kiss her, before being promoted to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) – the highest non-commissioned rank in the Army – despite the ‘minor administrative action’ against him.
Mr Rheinberg said Gnr Beck had been ‘sufficiently terrified to flee the scene’ after the incident to ‘hide in the toilets, take refuge in the car and remain on the phone’ to a friend.
He added on the balance of probabilities that Gnr Beck’s complaint about the encounter ‘should have been reported to police and the failure to do so breached Army policy’
Summing up the Salisbury inquest, Mr Rheinberg said: ‘I find on the balance of probabilities that the complaint should not have been dealt with by minor administrative action, by following this route it breached Army policy as it was a sexual assault carried out on a 19-year-old Gunner by a middle-aged man of senior rank and was recorded merely as inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a warrant officer.’
Gnr Beck was just 16 when she joined the army. She died three years later
The inquest previously heard from Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the Army personnel services group, who said the force formally accepted failures were made.
Brigadier Emmett said on Monday: ‘We let her down in so many ways for which we have already apologised, and if I can apologise again, for what it’s worth, I would do.’
Gnr Beck had also been subjected to an ‘intense period of unwelcome behaviour’ from Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager at the time, whose harassment left her feeling ‘trapped’.
Bdr Mason, 40, sent thousands of WhatsApp messages to her in the months before her death and had reportedly written a 15-page short story about ‘his feelings’ towards the teenage soldier.
Gnr Beck encountered Bdr Mason after joining 47 Regiment Royal Artillery and volunteering to be part of the Corps Engagement Team (CET) in February 2021
However, between October and December 2021, Bdr Mason sent the teenage soldier more than 4,600 messages confessing his feelings for her.
The inquest has uncovered Gnr Beck felt ‘weighed down’ by his barrage of messages and constant declarations of love, which had ‘crossed the line’ of both professionalism and friendship.
In a WhatsApp message to Bdr Mason, she said: ‘I honestly feel trapped in this whole situation, I have tried to act as a normal as possible because we are working together but nothing is normal about this situation.
‘I have tried to be there for you as a friend but it completely crossed the line of that a long time ago.
Bombardier Ryan Mason, 40, sent Gnr Beck 3,600 texts in a month, with the inquest hearing he had also written a 15-page ‘love story about his feelings’ towards the teen soldier
‘I have felt so uncomfortable at this event, I have literally cried about it and been up worrying about it.
‘The truth is I am struggling to deal with all this, it’s taken a huge toll on my mental health for many reasons. I need time out.’
Speaking today, the coroner Mr Rheinberg said: ‘It’s difficult to imagine the extent of the adverse effect that this must have had on Jaysley, a very young woman with problems of her own.
‘Jaysley described the Bombardier’s conduct as creepy and ultimately as frightening.
‘Rightly or wrongly she felt he was tracking her by her phone, the Bombardier denied this and I find it unlikely.’
The coroner said he found it ‘difficult to believe that’ Mr Mason had not been manipulating Gnr Beck by demanding her support for his mental health by telling her of his thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
The Army said Mr Mason’s actions amounted to ‘unwelcome sexual attention’ and ‘harassment’, the coroner said.
Bdr Mason bombarded the teenage soldier with 3,600 text in the November before her death
Jaysley’s mother Leighann McCready previously told the inquest her daughter had been ‘upset and crying’ on December 7, days before her death, and that ‘Ryan was freaking her out’
Giving evidence, Mr Mason, who quit the Army the same month as Gnr Beck died, described her as ‘that energetic person that brought good spirits to the team’.
When asked by the coroner Mr Rheinberg if he began to have romantic feelings for the teenager and had declared his love for her, Bdr Mason, who now works as a driving instructor, declined to answer.
Mr Rheinberg had advised him that he did not have to answer questions if his answers were likely to incriminate him.
Mr Mason again declined to answer when the coroner asked him whether ‘there is a suggestion from the WhatsApp messages that you were putting pressure on Jaysley by referencing to concerns about your mental health and suicide’.
Mr Mason broke down in tears as he told the hearing that he had suffered from mental health issues since he was a child and had self-harmed in 2015.
Mr Rheinberg asked Mr Mason: ‘At this stage Jaysley was 19, do you think it appropriate for a much older man of more senior rank to off-load their troubles to a 19-year-old?’ to which Mr Mason replied: ‘I will decline to answer.’
Jaysley’s mother Ms McCready told the inquest her daughter had been ‘upset and crying’ on December 7, days before her death, and that ‘Ryan was freaking her out’
He also asked: ‘Did you attempt to manipulate Jaysley into maintaining a close relationship with her by threatening suicide or self-harm?’
Mr Mason replied: ‘I didn’t have an aim, it wasn’t to manipulate.’
He also asked Mr Mason: ‘Did you, while staying in a hotel, ask Jaysley to sleep with you?’ to which he answered: ‘No.’
The coroner asked Mr Mason about an incident on December 7 when he, Gnr Beck and a third soldier were staying at a hotel for an event.
The inquest has heard that Gnr Beck left early after calling her parents in a ‘frightened state’.
The coroner then asked: ‘Did you during the course of that stay enter Jaysley’s room and put your hand on her leg?’ to which Mr Mason replied: ‘No.’
Mr Rheinberg asked Mr Mason: ‘Did you perceive that your constant pursuing of Jaysley would cause her to suffer stress?’ to which he replied: ‘I decline to answer.’
Bombardier George Young previously told the hearing he received a phone call from Gnr Beck, who was ‘trembling, crying and in shock’.
Mr Mason is seen arriving at the coroner’s court wearing a facemask and hat
‘She said that it had gone too far, that she could no longer deal with being around Ryan,’ he said.
‘The intensity of the behaviour had really ramped up in terms of what was being said. I think he’d tried knocking on her hotel room door as well.’
Mr Mason told the inquest that he went back to his family home in West Yorkshire on December 8 before he then handed in his notice to quit the Army.
Earlier, the inquest heard how Gnr Beck’s father, Antony Beck, had urged her to ‘stay well away’ from ‘very controlling’ Bdr Mason after remarking that ‘something is not right with him’.
Staff Sergeant Cory Budd – Gnr Beck’s lover at the time of her death – told the inquest that she had admitted to him that her father had been ‘worried’ about her.
It was heard SSgt Budd was married at the time and him and Gnr Beck were having an affair.
During their affair, Gnr Beck messaged SSgt Budd telling him her father was concerned about Bdr Mason – who had written a 15-page ‘love story about his feelings’ towards the teen solider.
Gnr Beck’s restaurant owner father Mr Beck reportedly warned her that: ‘Something is not right with him, he comes across very controlling… you need to stay well away’.
Gnr Beck is seen during her passing out parade with her father, Anthony Beck
Gnr Beck is pictured, centre, following her passing out parade at AFC Harrogate
An Army service inquiry report, published in October 2023 found ‘it is almost certain’ Bdr Mason’s behaviour was ‘a causal factor in her death’.
It added: ‘Whilst this behaviour ended the week before her death, it appears that it continued to affect her and had taken a significant toll on her mental resilience and wellbeing.’
The inquiry report detailed a trio of additional ‘contributory factors’ to her death, which included the ‘significant strain’ of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life.
Another factor highlighted by the report was a relationship which ended in November 2021 that involved ‘repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend’.
And the internal probe noted an ‘unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge-drinking’ played a contributory role in her death.
Joining up in March 2019, Gnr Beck spent her first year at the Army Foundation College (AFC), Harrogate, North Yorks, graduating in February 2020 in to the Royal Artillery.
She suffered a lower limb injury and stayed on as an instructor until July 2020 to recuperate and was then posted to 14 Regiment, Royal Artillery (RA) in Larkhill, Salisbury, for a four-week course as a drone operator.
After that, Jaysley was moved to 47 Regiment RA and volunteered to be part of the Corps Engagement Team (CET) from February 2021, during which her duties included promoting the Army at events, shows and in schools to potential new recruits.
But from the second half of 2021, the teenage soldier was ‘taken advantage’ of by four male colleagues, all of them older and senior in rank to her, which eventually, combined with other factors, drove her to take her own life.
The inquest heard Jaysley had previously had a long-distance relationship with an instructor at AFC Harrogate, whose rank then was the Royal Artillery equivalent of Corporal.
The Army has apologised for Gnr Beck’s death after it ‘let her down’. Gnr Beck is pictured
Bombardier George Higgins, now 30, who has left the Army, was eight years Jaysley’s senior. Asked at the inquest if their relationship began while she was a trainee, he initially declined to answer, then said it began after she left Harrogate.
Higgins was a trainer at the army foundation college in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, which Beck attended from the age of 16.
In July 2021, the inquest heard how Gnr Beck was allegedly groped by WO1 Webber, who is accused of ‘forcing himself’ upon the young soldier during an Army team-building exercise before her death.
He sent her an apology letter after the alleged assault saying his ‘behaviour was unacceptable’.
However, giving evidence, BSM Webber – who was 39 at the time – refused to answer questions about the incident, claiming he had taken ‘legal advice’.
BSM Webber also refused to say whether he had told his wife that he allegedly put his hand on the female Royal Artillery soldier’s leg.
BSM Webber was handed a ‘minor administrative sanction’ after admitting he attempted to kiss the junior soldier which was documented as being ‘inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a Warrant Officer’.
Gnr Beck (pictured) was allegedly targeted by WO1 Webber during an adventurous training trip to Thorney Island, home to 12 and 16 Regiments, Royal Artillery
‘Gunner Beck wasn’t well known to me,’ he claimed while giving evidence.
The inquest heard the trip involved watersports such as kite surfing and paddle boarding.
He then declined to answer questions from Coroner Mr Rheinberg.
He was asked what time he arrived to the function and in response, BSM Webber said that ‘upon legal advice… I decline to answer that question’.
He was referred to a letter of apology sent to Gnr Beck after the incident in which he said is ‘behaviour was unacceptable’ and was ‘unbecoming on my rank’.
Mr Rheinberg asked BSM Webber: ‘In the letter, you described your behaviour as absolutely unacceptable… what was your behaviour?.’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Mr Rheinberg said: ‘Some time around 3am, on the 13th of July 2021, did you place your hand on Gnr Beck’s leg?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Gnr Beck is thought to have taken her own life over ‘relentless’ harassment during her time in the Army
Parents Anthony Beck and Leighann McCready outside Salisbury and Swindon Coroner’s Court, Salisbury Wilts
Gunner Beck is pictured on parade. The inquest into her death has already heard that WO1 Webber sent her an apology letter after the alleged assault saying his ‘behaviour was unacceptable’.
Mr Rheinberg said: ‘Did you pin Gunnner Beck down while attempting to kiss her?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Mr Rheinberg asked: ‘Were you drunk?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
He was asked questions from Alison Gerry, the solicitor representing the family.
Ms Gerry outlined the evidence heard in the inquest and said it was claimed BSM Webber had played a drinking game called ‘last man standing’, ‘grabbed her leg, tried to kiss her and you made her so frightened she had to sleep in her car’.
The barrister asked BSM Webber: ‘Did you admit to your wife that you put your hand on Jaysley’s leg?’
In response, the Warrant Officer said: ‘I decline to answer.’
Ms Gerry referred to the letter of apology and him concluding it with the remark ‘I hope you can accept this apology and if there is anything that I can do for you my door will always be open’.
Mr Mason was asked a series of questions by the family’s counsel, Alison Gerry, about the Whatsapp messages that he sent to Gunner Beck before the coroner halted the line of questioning out of concern for the ‘mental health’ of the witness.
Finishing her questions, Ms Gerry asked Mr Mason: ‘You were Jaysley’s line manager, you were older, she was a young new soldier and your subordinate and it’s right you became completely obsessed with her, possessive, jealous, manipulative. And when she split up with her boyfriend, you were overjoyed as that meant you could be together and when that did not happen you became more obsessive and manipulative?’
He replied: ‘I decline to answer.’
Larkhill Barracks near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Gunner Beck was found dead in December 2021
She asked him: ‘You have just apologised for this unacceptable behaviour, unbecoming of your rank – did you think it was appropriate to offer to keep your door open?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘At the time it was a genuine apology, that’s all I can say.’
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